Do I Get My Happy Ending?
by Cassiesmum02
Summary: With her heart shredded by Clay Sarah's not sure what her next move is. Fighting for her Prince Charming just got a whole lot more complicated.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

This is the sequel to Hale Charming, you have to read that first or this will make no sense. I considered leaving this unposted till next week but the reviews I got had this little voice in the corner of my mind that sounded just like Jax telling me it was cruel and unusual punishment to leave you all hanging so unsatisfied.

I'm not sure where I'm going, I'm pretty much driving on auto pilot through the streets of Charming, other than the 2 tears no more have fallen from my eyes and I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not. Eventually I realise that I've driven in a massive circle right around town and I've ended up in Elliot's driveway.

Parking in front of his house I get out of the car as his front door opens; he steps through and pulls the door closed behind him. "Sarah, what's up? The plans aren't ready yet, Jenny said they won't be done for at least a week."

I nod, "I know, just needed somewhere to go and think, and to hide my truck while I do it, can I borrow a parking space?"

"Sure." There's not even a moment's hesitation as he agrees, "Pull behind the building. If you need somewhere to think you're welcome to use one of the quads from behind the garage and go for a ride."

"Thanks Ell." I say quietly. "Can you move the truck; don't think I could drive it again at the moment."

Elliot nods; I return to the truck briefly for my phone and the pack of smokes and lighter tucked in the console between the front seats.

Elliot calls my name as I walk towards the barn. "Sarah. It'll get better."

I snort softly, "I'm not sure about that." I reply forcing my feet to move again, turning the corner at the back of the garage I see a line of 3 quad bikes and helmets. Fastening a helmet to my head I silently thank David for having a quad bike as a teenager, least I know how to operate one of these.

I pull away from the garage and follow a clearly marked path between the trees, my phone vibrates almost constantly in my pocket before I stop in a clearing about 4 miles from where I started. There's a circle gap in the trees overhead and a patch of sunlight in the middle. Parking the bike beside a tree I walk to the centre of the sun and sit down on the grass.

Pulling my phone from my pocket it vibrates again with another call, Jax's name flashes across the tiny display and seeing that 3 letter word causes the dam to break and I burst into tears. Tossing the phone into the grass beside me I pull out the pack of smokes and the lighter I'd brought Jax yesterday. The random collection of lighters that I'd picked through had been funny, but the one that I pulled out and brought now seems pathetic, the blue and grey pattern reminded me of his and my eye colours mixed together. I'd stupidly taken it as a sign that things would be okay.

Peeling open the top of the pack of cigarettes I pull one out and stare at it as the tears flow, the smell of it is hard to deal with. Given that Jax smoked the same brand of cigarettes since he started at age 16 the smell has always reminded me of him, and it probably always will. Flicking the lighter with my thumb I ignore the trail of tears and try and work out what to do now.

Throwing myself back into the grass I stare at the sky and start thinking. I can't leave; I promised Donna that I wouldn't. But I can't stay around the club; I can't watch Jax find someone else, someone who won't have a club member saying 'no you can't'. Even though I love Jax I can't be with him against Clays wishes. Clay is the closest thing to a father I have, he's my only connection to my father.

I stop thinking for a while and watch the clouds drift across the sky in front of me, I'm not sure how long passes, but when I finally sit up again I realise something that I tried to make Jax and Clay see.

No matter how much I love them both, the club _has_ to come first, if my being in a relationship with Jax is going to make it hard for them to sit at the same table then I can't do it. If my being in Charming is going to make it hard for the Club then I'll leave, even as much as I'll hate it, and hate having to tell Donna I lied.

Resolve made I pick up my phone and check the time, it's still not even 11am and I feel like my whole world has been ripped apart in one day, less then that given that I left the clubhouse at 9am. The list of missed calls is long, in the 2 hours since I left Teller-Morrow Jax has tried to ring me 120 times, Clay has tried 60, Donna has tried 4, Gemma has sent me 3 text messages telling me to come back, all timed at between 5 and 10 minutes after I left. The message light is flashing on the phone, setting back onto the bike I dial the message service and hear the automated voice "You have 23 new messages."

The first 16 messages are all Jax saying 2 words in each message "Come back", which I delete after listening to them. The 17th message is Clay the second I hear his voice I hit the delete button. The 18th and 19th messages are Donna, the first saying to come back, the second reminding me I promised I wouldn't leave again. The 20th message is Gemma telling me that I need to come to the lot. The 21st and 22nd messages are nothing, there's not a word said on them. The 23rd message is Jax again asking me again and again to come back and that he loves me, that's the only message I save from them all.

Riding back through the trees it doesn't take long before they give way to the field behind the Oswald house. Parking the bike back where I found it I head to the back door instead of around the front and knock gently.

Elliot's daughter answers the door, the 11 year old looking up at me, "Who are you?"

"My name's Sarah. Is your dad around?"

"He's out the front, talking to the men on motorbikes." Tristen looks up at me.

Shit. The thought flashes across my brain but I fasten a smile on my lips, "Oh, well he's expecting me, can I come in?"

Karen comes through the door behind her daughter and looks over at me, the tear streaks down my face and the dirt that's clinging to my Capri's and shirt, she smiles and ushers me into the house and through to the front. "Elliot's out talking with Clay. Apparently someone saw your truck turn into the driveway. They know you're here."

I sigh and nod, "Can I just wash my face then I'll take the leather clad monsters out of here."

Karen nods and shows me to a downstairs bathroom and quietly closes the door behind her as she leaves, telling me she'll be in the kitchen when I'm done.

5 minutes later I've washed my face and brushed my hair out with my fingers, tugging it all down around my neck to cover the bruise from Jax. I can't do anything about my clothes and the dirt that's clinging to me but I don't care.

Opening the door again I go back to the kitchen and find Karen and Tristen eating sandwiches at the table. "Sorry to interrupt your Sunday. Thank you for the peace."

Karen stands up and walks with me towards the front of the house again, "Sarah, you saved our businesses. If there is anything you need, just ask."

I nod, "Thank you again. I better go rescue Ell."

Opening the door I hear Elliot, "If she is here I'm not telling you."

"It's okay, I'm here." I say quietly.

Elliot turns towards me and looks me over, "You okay?"

I shake my head, "Nope, nowhere near it."

"Wow, don't know what to say to that." He replies, holding my keys out. "Your truck is in the last bay; go in through the blue door and push the button for bay 5 and the door will open."

"K thanks Ell." I smile as he steps past me before turning to face the leather clad men standing in the gravel.

I avoid Jax's eyes and Clay's, fixing on Happy, Chibs and Opie. "Why are you all here?"

Jax moves to come up the stairs but I back towards the door as he moves, "We came to bring you home." He says quietly.

I snort, "What home? Do I even have one anymore? I'm not sure."

Clay clears his throat, "You always have a home at Teller-Morrow."

I snap my head towards him, "Bullshit. I'll have a home there as long as I toe the line and act like the good little girl, obeying everything you say. I can't do it Clay. I can't stay if it's going to cause the club harm, I can't stay knowing I'll have to look at you every day and know that you're the one who destroyed the happiness I felt this morning when the only man I've ever loved ask me to be his Old Lady. I can't stay knowing that the man I love, and will always love, will move on; he'll meet someone else, someone who YOU have no hold over, someone who can be with him without fear of disapproval or internal conflict."

I sigh softly, "I just can't."

Opie draws my attention from the back of the group, "What about Donna."

I look at him and tears well in my eyes again, but I refuse to let them fall. "I love Donna, she knows that, she also knows that I love Jax; always have, always will. She won't like it, but she'll understand. And if she doesn't then just ask her how she'd feel if she had to stay here watching you having a life with someone else."

By the end of my sentence my voice is almost a whisper. I spent a couple of seconds looking at each of the Sons standing in front of me before taking a deep breath. "I'm going to go and get in my car now, you're all going to go back to the Clubhouse and leave me alone." I walk along the deck towards the steps that lead straight to the garage, my keys digging into my hand.

"Wait." Clay orders and I shake my head as I continue walking. "Well, at least tell us where you're going."

I sigh, "I'm going to my house, alone, where I'd like to be left."

Descending the stairs I head straight into the garage and close the door behind me, finding the button that opens the roller door in front of where my car is parked I get in the car and pull out past the 5 bikes and onto the road.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. 5 reviews gets next chapter early.

My phone continues to vibrate as I drive along, completely ignoring the piece of technology as it shakes its way around my passenger's seat, my eyes feel very tired and sore, the amount of tears I've spilt probably having a lot to do with that. Pulling into the car park of a gas station I duck in and collect a couple of bottles of water and a sandwich that I'm not sure I'll even eat.

While I'm at the counter I hear the rumble of bikes coming down the road and a quick glance confirms it's the 5 I've just left behind. Shoving my change in my pocket I wait till the tail end bike is out of view before I head back to my car and continue my drive.

I'm not sure if I should be surprised when I pull into my driveway and spot Al sitting on the front step. I'm glad it's not Gemma or Donna though, so I guess a small mercy has been granted to me in that aspect.

Collecting my purchases and the still periodically vibrating cell phone I climb out of the car and lock it behind me.

"What?" I ask, walking across the grass and up the stairs.

"Wanna tell me what happened?" Al asks, jumping to her feet.

"Nope." I reply, unlocking the door and stepping inside, the smell of wood and glue like a smack in the face.

Al pushes past me and grabs hold of my arm, forcing me to stop. "Well then should I tell you what happened after you left?"

I shake my head, yanking my arm from her grasp I go to what was going to be my living room and sit on one of the over turned crates from the wiring spools. "Not really interested." I say, opening one of the bottles of water I've carried inside.

Al looks at me as she leans against the wall and slides down it, landing on her backside on the floor. "You are interested, and you need to know."

I swallow a few mouthfuls of the water and look sceptically at the sandwich before tossing it back into the bag with a quiet rustle of plastic. "Why do I need to know? There's nothing that you can tell me that will make the amount I'm hurting any less."

Al looks at me for a second before pulling her knees up and resting her chin on them. "You need to shut the fuck up and listen to me Sarah."

I feel my eyes widen at how angry Al sounds and I just nod, twisting the plastic ring around the top of my water bottle.

Al takes a deep breath and starts speaking; her artistic talent always helped her paint pictures with words as well as ink so I know I'll get as much detail as she can remember. "When you left the whole place just went silent, the sound of your tires being almost shredded as you pulled onto the street was so loud it was like you were in the room with us. No one could even work out what had happened when Jax started yelling from behind the closed doors, unlike whatever you had all said before we could actually hear every word that he said."

She meets my eyes, "He told Clay that he'd leave Charming if it was going to be a big deal for him, but that you'd be going with him, he said that it had taken him years to realise what everyone kept trying to tell him, that you were the other half of him."

My eyes are firmly fixed on her as she speaks, "He said you were the person he wanted in his life. I guess Clay said something, we never figured out what it was cause Jax just screamed that he loves you. Clay came out not that much later and as he was going to Gemma Jax came out the door and laughed; it wasn't a funny laugh at all, but the kind that makes you want to cry for the pain you know he's feeling. He called Clays name and said 'I love her like you love my mother, and you want me to ignore that cause you don't like it?' Donna kept looking at the door like you were about to come back in but that one sentence brought everyone's attention back to Clay."

I swallow a bit more of the water in my bottle and continue to ignore the rattling sound my phone's making as Al smiles at me. "Gemma flipped out, completely. I've never seen someone so angry, if it wasn't for the room full of people I'm sure she would have castrated Clay where he stood but all she kept asking was 'What did you do?' He couldn't answer so Jax told her, and all of us, that he'd said he couldn't give the pair of you the blessing that you needed. She completely flipped out, so did Donna. Between the pair of them I'm sure they called him every name under the son. Opie just about decked him, it was only Tig and Happy that stopped him from throwing a punch. I don't know how Jax didn't take the first swing."

She stops talking for a second, leaning over and snagging one of the bottles from the bag, cracking the top and taking several long swallows. "It took a second before I realised why Clay was still standing. Jax didn't have it in him to punch him. Even with how much Clay had obviously hurt you both there was something in Jax that helped him keep his composure."

I wipe a stray tear from my eye as she smiles sadly at me, "So what are we doing now?"

I shrug, "I'm not sure what I'm doing. You don't need to do anything, stay here with Juice. Be happy." I stutter on the last word and lean back to look at the ceiling, to gather my thoughts, and stop more tears following the lone trail.

My phone vibrates again and Al leans over to and picks it up off the floor. Flicking it open she glances at the screen before looking up at me, "It's Jax."

I shake my head, "I can't."

"Can't what?" A voice sounds from the door and I turn my head to see Gemma standing in the doorway.

"I can't talk to Jax and pretend that I'm going to be okay. I can't talk to Jax and tell him that we can forget what happened, either last night or this morning. I can't be the reason the club falls apart. I can't be the reason that Jax and Clay loose the bond they've formed over so many years." My voice drops to a half volume, "I can't be in the same town as Jax knowing that every day I'll have to see him moving on with his life. I can't watch him fall in love with someone else. I can't watch someone be Abel's Mommy while trying to hide that I wish it was me."

I look down at my hands and sniff softly and it takes a second before the sound of footsteps moving across the floor sinks into my brain but when they appear in my line of sight I shake my head. "Go away Jax. I just said why I can't, why are you here?" The trademark white sneakers poking from the bottom of his frayed jeans give away his identity almost as much as the smell that creeps into my nose.

Squeezing my eyes tightly closed as he drops to a crouch in front of me I barely hear anything else but the creak of leather and the clink of his wallet chain sliding off his leg.

"Look at me. Please." He whispers, his breath fanning over my face.

I shake my head violently, my hair wrapping around my neck as I do, "I can't." I'm not sure if he hears the softly whispered reply.

The rustle of moving material is the only warning I have before he wraps his hands around my upper arms and jerks me to my feet. "Sarah, open your eyes."

I stubbornly shake my head and try to raise my hands to my face; my forearms hit his elbows before they make it even half way up.

Dropping my head so I'm looking at the floor I slowly open my eyes, running my gaze up the length of his body from his feet to his arms to his face I bite the edge of my tongue so I don't burst into tears ago. He's holding me barely 6 inches from him, if I inhaled deep enough my chest would brush his.

His gaze searches mine, spending minutes just staring at me before a loud throat clearing has him blinking. "Right." He turns to the side and I spot the other person who came into the room.

"What do you want Mr Morrow?" I snap I know I'm treading on thin ice but I don't really care.

Clay's gaze doesn't change but he does chuckle, "I deserved that. Can we talk?"

I shrug, "We are."

"I meant alone. Come outside with me?" Clay asks, turning towards the door and pulling a partially smoked cigar out of his pocket.

I meet Al's eyes and she nods as she jumps to her feet. I cross to her first and give her a hug, "I know this was your doing, letting them all in here."

She shrugs, "Just doing what Juice asked."

I shake my head, "You'll make a great Old Lady for him, when he asks."

She shoves me towards the door, "No stalling, go talk to him."

I sigh and gather whatever strength I have left for the conversation I'm about to have.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

This is the last chapter of DIGMHE.

Trailing behind Clay I don't say a word as we walk down the stairs and onto the grass, he eventually stops leaning against the side of one of the trees that runs along the edge of the boundary.

I stay silent while he lights his cigar and takes several puffs, the aromatic smoke drifting past me before dissipating into the air. He eventually takes several breaths and raises his head.

"You should know that Jax wasn't going to give up on you as easy as I hoped and that in the last few hours I've had him, Gem, Donna and the rest of the club on my ass about what I said."

I stare blankly at him, waiting, I'm not sure if there is anything I have to say to him that won't insult him or his parentage.

I watch as he inhales deeply, the leather across his shoulders moving with the rise and fall of his chest. "I was wrong. I know that nothing I can say will make it seem any better, and that I can't apologise for the complete lack of tack that I showed."

I mentally roll my eyes; he's parroted words that I know Gemma has probably been shouting at him both in person and over the phone for at least the last 3 hours.

He rubs his hand over his face before fixing his eyes on mine again and something in them tells me I'm going to get his real feelings about the issue and why he's so dead set against it. Hopefully it'll be a reason that will make his negative reaction start to make sense.

"I know you're thinking I'm telling you what Gem said, well shouted, at me. You'd be right. But Sarah, you have to listen to me."

"I am." I interrupt.

"Good. I know you're not my daughter, I know that you have none of my blood in your body, none of my DNA but you've been my niece since the day you came into the world screaming and yelling and disturbing everyone's peace. When your folks died I never expected you to end up here, I was sure you'd end up with your mother's family in Florida but for some reason you ended up in our tiny little town with your father's brother instead, a brother you didn't know existed." Clay glances down and puffs a couple of times on his cigar before looking at me again.

"The day you came barrelling into me in Stockton was within the best 5 days of my life, I decided then that I'd be as close to a father as I could be, without trying to replace Charles. Thought I was doing a pretty good job of it, then you ran away to New York without a word to anyone, but you came back and I decided it was my second second chance to help you be who you wanted to be." He sighs deeply, "Then today I fucked all of that up."

A tiny part of me is shouting to tell Clay that he hasn't fucked it up, but the majority of me is sitting back nodding furiously and sharpening as many pointy things as they can imagine.

"It's not my choice who you're friends with, who you live with, who you love. Jax and I actually managed to talk for a while after Gemma stopped screaming at me and he made me realise that I was being an overbearing, overprotective asshole." 

I chuckle a little at the image of Gemma and Jax taking turns to put Clay in his place.

Clays face twists into a small smile and he shakes his head slowly. "I can't make your choices for you; I can't try and save you from the mistakes I think you're making but I can tell you that I'm sorry for being overprotective, overbearing and an asshole. I can tell you that I know if Charles and Nicki had still been here when that happened this morning there wouldn't be enough pieces of me to fill a matchbox. It's still debateable whether Gem will leave enough of me to fill a thimble if I don't fix this."

The part of me that was sharpening tools lessens a little as a section of my brain tries to work out what to say. As I start opening my mouth Clay holds up his hand.

"Not quiet done yet. And trust me, admitting how much I fucked up is hard for me. But what I really need to say is this. Sarah, I'm sorry for trying to make your life harder, I'm sorry for trying to control you, even if it wasn't intentional. I always knew that you'd end up with a Son from the minute you jumped on the back of my bike with no fear at 12 years old. I knew from the time you were 14 that it would be Jax. I just tried to fool myself into thinking I could change your mind. When you left I was upset you'd gone, but happy that it meant you wouldn't end up as an Old Lady to someone who wouldn't respect you."

Clay pauses but I can tell by the set of his shoulders that he's not finished yet. "I was wrong. Jax loves you, he's only just realised how long he's loved you for and I tried to make you both ignore it because it made me uncomfortable."

"So?" I ask the majority of me is stunned that Clay has said he was sorry and admitted he was wrong, the minor part of me is waiting for the other boot to fall.

"I want you to be happy. I want you to stay here. If that means you're with Jax then so be it, your happiness is more important to me then me feeling a little uncomfortable." Clay says his entire body relaxing.

I'm slightly stunned for a second and the time it takes for the words he's said to sink in is used as he finishes his cigar and put it out.

"Clay, what are you trying to say?" I ask, needing him to put it very clearly before I can accept that it sounds like he's giving me his approval.

"If Jax is what makes you happy then you have my blessing. However, if he hurts you he has to answer to me." Clay says his gaze fixed firmly on me.

A smile breaks across my face, so wide that it feels like my cheeks are going to split open. "Thank you." I whisper stepping closer to him and wrapping my arms around his waist.

He hugs me to his chest and rests his chin on the top of my head and doesn't say anything.

Eventually he pulls back and rests his arm across my shoulders, "Come on, there's someone more important than me you need to see."

The smile on my face gets bigger as we turn towards the house, "So best 5 days?" I ask as we step back into the sunlight.

"Yep, the day Gem agreed to marry me and your birthday are another 2. The day I became president was one, and the day I met JT is the last." Clay says as we walk across the grass.

Going back through my open front door Clay pushes me in front of him into the living room where Jax is standing leaning against the wall. My eyes meet his and I rush across the room to him, pretty much throwing myself into his arms. My hands bury themselves in his hair and I tug his head backwards and crash my lips to his, kissing him and completely forgetting everyone else in the room is there.

I feel his arms wrap around me, one under my ass supporting my weight and the other around my waist. His hand is clenched tightly on my hip as time ceases to exist, when we eventually pull away from each other it's to a completely silent room and the faint echo of bikes leaving my driveway.

Meeting his gaze I giggle, "Guess we scared everyone off?"

Jax growls and releases me, setting my feet on the ground, "Don't you ever pull shit like that again, do you hear me?" Running his hands up my arms he cups my face in his palms and holds my head still. "I thought you'd left town again."

I shake my head, "I couldn't leave. I'd pretty much worked out that even if I had to torment myself by seeing you every day I still would not be able to leave."

Jax wraps his arms around my shoulders and tugs me closer, my arms coming between us, my hands fisting in his shirt as he lowers his head again and kisses me, this meeting of our lips is gentle, almost an apology about the almost violent meeting they'd had previously.

When he eventually detangles himself from me it's his hands that are in my hair, both of our breaths are uneven and I know my face is flushed and my eyes are glazed, looking up at him I can see his eyes have darkened and are almost glowing.

"You have a simple choice here Sarah." He says, wetting his lower lip and moving so a fraction of an inch of clear space is visible between us.

"What?" I ask, my body instantly cooling several degrees from the separation.

"I can take you upstairs and we can start christening the rooms of this house now or we can go to my house and start there." Jax says, carefully pulling his hand from my hair.

"Your house." I answer; even with my house hidden behind trees I have no curtains, and only hard wooden floors.

*I deliberately made this very short to keep people interested, however the sequel to this (titled 'Third Times A Charm') is proving to be another long one like HC was.


End file.
